Oregon’s latest graduation rates came out last week just as the snowpocalypse arrived and buried most discussion under a thick layer of white. With this week’s thaw, the news comes back into focus:

Oregon’s on-time graduation rate is on track to remain second-worst in the nation. No state does a worse job graduating white students on time. Most states do better at helping low-income, immigrant and minority students across the finish line. This bottom-of-the barrel status is jarring and outrageous -- yet some Oregon high schools are beating the odds, and some middle schools are doing a better job positioning eighth graders for success.

Oregon can’t waste a moment in its race from the bottom. The state should replicate the successes at Portland’s Franklin High, Hillsboro’s Glencoe High and other schools with rapid gains. It should also keep its eyes on a larger goal of graduating at least 90 percent of students on time.

Only 69 percent of Oregon students in the class of 2013 earned a diploma in four years, as The Oregonian’s Betsy Hammond reported last week. The majority of states boast graduation rates of 80 percent or higher, while Oregon and Nevada share the dunce’s bench in the most recent federal rankings as two states that can’t crack 70 percent.

You can’t blame any particular group for Oregon’s low standing, either: Even groups that are perceived as holding academic advantages posted unimpressive rates, including white students (71 percent), girls (73 percent) and non-poor students (78 percent).

Yet Oregon isn’t monolithic in its performance. Many Oregon high schools boast impressive or respectable on-time graduation rates, and many have seen significant gains over the past five years. Franklin High in Southeast Portland and Glencoe High in Hillsboro, for example, have boosted their on-time graduation rates to 85 percent.

Both grapple with diversity and poverty. Both have shown a stellar commitment to keeping students in class, on track and engaged in challenging classes. Neither makes excuses for their students or staff.

"You don't just change overnight," Franklin principal Shay James told The Oregonian’s Nicole Dungca, while singling out her staff for credit. "This has been a lot of years of a lot of hard work."

Successful strategies for boosting the graduation rate are no secret. They include working with students in the younger grades to support regular attendance; keeping students on track in middle school; dealing with signs of academic and behavioral problems in real time, rather than after a student has failed classes or drifted off campus; and avoiding placing students in programs with terrible track records.

Given these known best practices, it’s distressing that Reynolds High in east Multnomah County remains far behind its peers, particularly on the graduation rates of Latino students. It’s inexplicable that Portland Public Schools still maintains relationships with too many lower-quality alternative schools that fail students and drag down the district’s rate. It’s also odd that some of the same Oregon schools with a lax attitude toward attendance seem surprised and perplexed when so many of their students fall behind on their credits.

Oregon will never reach an on-time graduation rate of 100 percent. It simply isn’t realistic, given the known disruptions faced by teenagers. Yet an on-time graduation rate of 90 percent – plus a higher rate for students needing a fifth year – is both attainable and essential for the state’s economic vitality.

Oregon needs to make a major cultural shift on diplomas. Otherwise, every attempt to rebuild the state’s frayed reputation on public education will feel like a snow job.